Sunday, June 7, 2015

Swords of Sorrow #2 - A Review

Across the multiverse, the chosen of The Traveller begin to meet. And, in many cases, to fight. For The Traveller needs leaders in the fight to come and leaders seldom work well with others who would follow their own destiny. Still, they will unite or they will die... for the chosen of The Prince are close at hand and ready to finish the job if these heroines don't do themselves in.

The lion's share of this issue is devoted to a battle between Dejah Thoris and Red Sonja. The fight is an interesting contest. While Sonja finds her abilities enhanced by the atmosphere of Barsoom and is likely the more capable warrior, Dejah Thoris is a more tactical fighter and better able to use the environment to her advantage.

The appearances of the other heroines in this volume amount to little more than set-ups for the tie-in issues that will be released later this summer. Still, Gail Simone does a fine job of keeping the plot moving and giving us a taste of what is to come. And one can't fault the focus on Dynamite's two most popular heroines, though Vampirella gets a goodly amount of page time as well. Such is the problem with all crossover series based around an ensemble - someone has to be the supporting cast.

The art team for this series is top-notch. Sergio Davila does a wonderful job of matching the fast pace of the script with some impressive illustrations and brilliant action sequences. He also depicts all of the heroines - even the more fantastically dressed ones - as powerful figures without a hint of cheesecake. The colors by Jorge Sutil add to the splendor of the finished artwork.